The ketogenic diet was originally made popular by Dr. Robert Atkins who used it to lose weight after reading about it in a research paper by Gordon Azar and Walter Lyons Bloom which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The public became fascinated with the 'Atkins Diet' in 1972 when it was explained and sold as a best selling book titled Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution.

Simply put, the human body burns either sugar or fat to create energy, preferring to burn sugar and to store fat for later use. In his book Atkins made the controversial argument that the low-carbohydrate diet, which reduces the intake of all forms of sugar, produces a metabolic advantage because "burning fat takes more calories so you expend more calories." Atkins cited one study where he estimated this advantage to be 950 Calories per day. In essence, by eating meat, eggs and other high protein foods while excluding sugars Atkins believed the body functions equally well and burns calories at a faster pace.

A review study published in the Lancetin 2004 concluded that there was no such metabolic advantage and suggested that weight-loss believed to be from diet induced ketosis was actually a result of eating fewer calories because of boredom due to a less exciting and less tasty list of foods. Professor Astrup stated "The monotony and simplicity of the diet could inhibit appetite and food intake."

The controversy over the reason why the diet works continues in academic circles, but Varius is proving it is definitely effective. Already having dropped 34 pounds, "I believe due to the type of diet I am following, that it is a lifestyle change and something I can do moving forward for the rest of my life" said Varius. "I am not restricting myself like a typical diet, there are just certain types of food I will no longer eat again."

Approaching weight loss the same way webmasters approach their work is a very good idea. Do you own research and be thorough. "Find what works for you and what can become a lifestyle change, as opposed to short-term "fad" diet" said Varius "Everyone's body is different and what works for one person may not work for another the same way. You must be dedicated to the change, it is not always easy to resist temptation but in the end you have to ask yourself, what do you want more? To look and feel great, or to have that momentary satisfaction from that particular food item."

"Also, don't buy into all the myths out there without doing your own research. For example, a popular myth right now is that eating more frequently throughout the day (5-6 meals) boosts metabolism" said Varius. "Starvation mode (when talking about a 24 hour period) is another popular statement I have found in my research to be false. The information is out there, you just have to do the work to find it."

"Exercise, while important, is only a minor part of losing weight" according to Varius. "I haven't yet been able to motivate myself to exercise much more than a few hours a week. The bottom line is weight loss is calories in vs. calories out, the type of calories doesn't matter. However, for health and appearance, what you are eating is as important as how much you eat."

An even bigger move requires even more effort. "Basically I was 466 lbs and had a nasty yeast rash under my belly" said Tony404. "It was like having a paper-cut from hip to hip.　 I had lost 100s of pounds before, just to gain them back. So I really thought about what I had done before and why it didn't work. One of the things that would happen was I would white-knuckle it by starving and the weight would drop off quickly. Then I would start looking good. Then I would start eating and thinking, I'm normal now. I can eat like normal people. And the weight would come back."

"Normal people can have a small piece of cake or a bagel and that's it" Tony404 added. "For me it leads to a binge. This time I decided, I'm not normal and no matter how good I look, I'm still not normal. I also couldn't be the same person I was when I started out.　 If I was, I might as well keep the fat clothes. I decided certain foods were triggers and would never touch my lips again. I had eaten enough of them to last a lifetime anyway. I completely cut out ice cream, cookies, cake, bread, sugar, pasta and potatoes."

Then Tony starting supplementing with Alpha Lipoic Acid and chromium to keep his blood-sugar stable. "Now some foods are ok, but at certain times they are not.　For example, I find if I eat a banana first thing in the morning, I'm hungry throughout the day. Not like, I forgot to eat lunch hungry, but like an empty pit that can never been filled.　 But if I have it in the afternoon as a snack, it's a non-issue. I've become very sensitive to what my body is telling me."

"I didn't start exercising until I had already dropped 148 pounds. At 466 pounds exercising wasn't going to work and I would stop.　It was very important to only have successes in the beginning and no failures, because I knew myself. Failure would lead to, an attitude of: Well today is already screwed up, so let's eat cake. Just losing the 148 pounds increased my fitness level dramatically and in many ways it's like having a new body. After the first month it has been pretty close to craving free. People can eat cake, cookies and other assorted crap in front of me. It means nothing to me, because I see it as poison. I also believe weight loss is a solo activity and if there is a real commitment to change, no one can tempt you. If things are temping to you, then it's time to look at what you're doing, because diving into bowls of ice cream isn't far away. Now as of today I've lost 190 pounds and I know I still have 76 more to go."

Another webmaster who has taken health and fitness to a new level recently is Dyna Mo. Not only has he managed to shed 30 pounds, he has also created a new food product capable of helping other webmasters to do the same thing with a lot less effort.

"I weighed 190 pounds at 46 years old, and I realized I was still in pretty decent shape considering I've been an insulin dependent diabetic for 27 years" said Dyna Mo, owner of TakeChargeFood.com. "Everything was still working fine and I wanted to stay that way. Knowing that time is not necessarily on my side, I decided to take responsibility for my level of health."

"I started by making several significant changes with my diet and exercise regimen. I first read a lot about nutrition and all types of diets. And did the same with fitness / bodybuilding" added Dyna Mo. "Based on that I decided to start off with a diet only kick-start, so I cut all calories down to about 1200 a day and walked twice every day. It was a "balanced" meal diet but the meals were all frozen 'TV Dinner' low cal meals. I would eat 2-3 of those a day and a piece of fruit. It worked. The weight started dropping off quickly. I kept this diet up for about 30 days, there were some days I would get dizzy on the uphill part of my daily walks. Anyway, I had lost about 17 pounds that first month, a lot of that was water weight, but it was enough to keep me motivated to continue."

A lot of first time dieters have 'false positive' results, where apparently successful dieting allows them to lose some weight visually while in reality they are losing nutrients and dehydrating themselves unintentionally along the way. An important part of achieving long term weight loss is understanding why you are losing weight, how you are losing weight and optimizing your plan to reduce your weight without reducing your nutrition.

"I moved from the diet "TV Dinner" stage to the p90x stage" Dyna Mo recalled. "I chose it and like it a lot since it is a workout program and eating program combined. The diet part starts with low carbs and ends with a lot of carbs, most all those carbs are meant to power you through the workouts. Workouts are six times a week. Three are resistance training and three are cardio. The program worked well for me, the key being not missing one single day. Consistency is the key, not every workout was mind blowing, some really sucked and I couldn't move a lot of weight, but I did it anyway and chalked it up to making gradual progress."

Now at 167 pounds, Dyna Mo has already lost 30 pounds of fat and gained 7 pounds of muscle in the last year. "I do believe I'll be able to keep my weight under control. I've turned nutrition and fitness into hobbies and that seems to work for me, keeping me motivated. I have also launched a nutrient dense food product that I eat daily called Take Charge Food. So, I made it a business too to stay extremely motivated about it all. The key is to just eat better! Everything is determined by what you eat. Not just for a healthy body but a healthy mind as well. Your mental outlook, attitude and focus are all enhanced with the right foods. Try a moderate carb, low calorie diet to lose weight and be consistent with it."

The best method of weight control is also the simplest - don't add on all the excess weight to begin with! When you are enjoying the holidays and the food that has become an integral part of celebrating, be mindful of how much you are eating and what you are eating - it's easy to gain weight during the holidays due to a complete lack of portion control and much harder to lose the weight after Santa is gone Frosty has melted.